Bermondsey + Tower Bridge

May weather was spoiling us a bit. Despite another post-cricket related hangover, we decided to pop out into London and enjoy the sun. Esther had her eye on Maltby Street market in Bermondsey to kick the day off. It’s a bustling, vibrant street with lots of food and booze to try. After doing a length, I’d decided I wanted to have a go on some jerk chicken and had spotted an interesting pale ale.

Pint No. 148

What? – The Old Bermondsey Brewery, Bare Knuckle Pale Ale

Where? – Maltby Street Market, Bermondsey

When? – Sunday 20th May 2018

Pint one for the day and it was a good start. Bare Knuckle Pale Ale out of The Old Bermondsey Brewery was just the ticket to cure the hangover. Served by a really nice bloke with a really strong moustache and at only £4 I was a happy chap. It came out a standard Pale Ale colour, without much head to speak of. It was a fresh and zingy pint with notes of citrus and pine. I’d have another one should the chance arise.

Overall Score: 3.5/5.

Armed with pints and Jamaican lunch food we made our way to a popular looking wall to consume. Whilst eating, we saw a couple of establishments in the railway arches. one of these was Hiver, a brewery I’d heard quite a bit about since doing this blog and was keen to try their wares.

Pint No. 149

What? – Hiver, Blonde

Where? – Maltby Street Market, Bermondsey

When? – Sunday 20th May 2018

Hiver Blonde is This goes straight up to the Champions League places in my challenge. I absolutely loved this pint. Fresh and beery but with the undeniable taste of real, natural honey. My concern going in was that it would taste artificially sweet and over-power the beer. However, whilst honey was the main flavour, the beer itself was good too with almost a dry finish. It poured a lovely yellow gold colour with a very thin white head. It almost looked like a great pint of cider.

Overall Score: 5/5.

Next we went on a walk over to Tower Bridge and around that area. We’d just scaled the steps when I got a call from work informing me there was an issue with a project of mine. Panic! In the middle of one of the busiest tourist spots in London and I’m having to scrabble around on my phone trying to fix an issue. Obviously, a seat was necessary. A seat in a pub.

Pint No. 150

What? – Shit ale

Where? – Big Pub

When? – Sunday 20th May 2018

A short walk away hidden in a pretty little marina was The Dickens Inn. A massive, multi-story pub that was absolutely packed to the rafters outdoors. We scalped a couple of seats and I started doing some work. Esther kindly popped in to find me a pint and came across the house ale. “Stop! Wait!” I hear you cry, “It’s a sunny day and you always complain about ales on hot days, get something else”. Well, dear reader, I could have done with this advice here. The Dickens Ale was an awful decision. It basically tasted like someone had fermented Shreddies with battery acid. Evan a cold winter’s night couldn’t have saved it. Watery and bitter in all the wrong places with a smell like a Weatherspoon’s carpet. Bad.